Affliction

The point: Pray for one another, even when you don't feel like it, because prayer kindles and deepens concern.

The word 'forbear' is likened to trying to keep a container airtight, illustrating Paul's attempt to suppress his deep concern for the Thessalonians until it burst forth.

longer forbear we thought it good to be left at Athens alone and sent Motheus notice verse 5 for this cause when I could no longer forbear I sent and so we have at the very introduction of this section and then repeated in verse 5 Paul telling us that which prompted him to send a messenger to the Thessalonians and he describes this under the phrase when we could no longer forbear now this word for bear is an interesting word it's a word that has as its connotation to hold out against something the picture of perhaps covering something concealing it by covering some have suggested it's the pict...

5:00 - 6:28 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains the two distinct purposes for Timothy's mission: to establish and comfort the Thessalonians concerning their faith, and to ascertain the enduring strength of their…

The act of using hair spray to fix hair in place is used as a contemporary illustration for the word 'confirm' or 'establish,' meaning to make something already right stay right.

originally in the direction of Jerusalem it's the word used in Revelation 3 to translate it strengthen the things that remain and it has the whole idea that something is established and it needs to be established with greater firmness something is put in a given direction it needs to be fixed in that direction something is already screwed up tight a bolt just turn it another quarter and make sure it'll never come loose it's the whole idea that the thing is right now just case it in its rightness you ladies get your hair just right then you fix it you confirm it with that bottle of spray you se...

22:35 - 24:03 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not spend your life trying to avoid affliction or praying yourself out of it; instead, learn God's purpose in it, as it is appointed for you.

Affliction is likened to a grape under pressure producing wine, illustrating the nature of pressures that come upon God's people.

ways just because it sounds better on the ear but it's not too good for Bible study at times and this is the same word in the original affliction we told you before that we should suffer affliction even as it came to pass and ye know verse 7 therefore brethren we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith here we have a context in which the people of God are experiencing affliction this word affliction the particular word used in verses 3 and 4 speaks of pressures like the grape that goes under pressure in order to produce the wine this is the picture of pressures...

27:00 - 28:28 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not spend your life trying to avoid affliction or praying yourself out of it; instead, learn God's purpose in it, as it is appointed for you.

Pastor Mahurin's observation about prayer requests focusing on minor physical ailments and avoiding death is used to highlight a sub-Christian view of affliction and death.

as the Apostle Paul was saved and set apart appointed set for the defense of the gospel Paul says the children of God are set appointed for affliction now once you get that settled in your mind then you realize well I better not spend my life trying how to avoid affliction or doing my best to pray myself out of affliction I better rather set myself to learn what is the purpose of God in affliction for if he appoints it he doesn't appoint it capriciously but he appoints it with purpose and yet it's amazing and I was brought to remind myself I was reminded this so forcibly this week in talking w...

29:54 - 31:23 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the function of affliction is basically this it is God's laboratory to test the genuineness of faith and it is God's school room to teach us the advanced lessons of faith

Affliction is described as God's laboratory to test faith and His schoolroom to teach advanced lessons of faith, contrasting it with the devil's attempt to make it a crematory to destroy faith.

in the very words of scripture 1 Peter 1 verses 5 through 7 who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time wherein ye greatly rejoice though now for a season if need be ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations or trials that the trial of your faith the function of affliction is basically this it is God's laboratory to test the genuineness of faith and it is God's school room to teach us the advanced lessons of faith that's the purpose of affliction affliction is the laboratory to test the genuineness of faith affliction is the school...

35:47 - 37:13 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the function of affliction is basically this it is God's laboratory to test the genuineness of faith and it is God's school room to teach us the advanced lessons of faith

The sun that nourishes a rooted plant is the same sun that shrivels a plant with no root, illustrating how affliction reveals the genuineness of faith.

an opportunity to utterly destroy and cast off faith now isn't that basically the lesson of the parable of the sower when you come to the stony ground here for this is the parable of the sower for this very word is used in Matthew 13 and verse 21 in that parable interpreted by our Lord himself Matthew 13 and verse 21 yet hath no root in himself that is the man that receives the seed on stony ground but dureth for a while but when affliction there's the word affliction or persecution ariseth because of the word by and by he is offended the son of God the son that rises to nourish the life of a ...

37:13 - 38:40 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the function of affliction is basically this it is God's laboratory to test the genuineness of faith and it is God's school room to teach us the advanced lessons of faith

God 'putting the screws on' like Job's trials is used to illustrate how God tests a man's faith by touching his possessions, physical being, reputation, and friends.

and above sight what happens? this tests how genuine his faith is here a man who has all his friends all his possessions and all of his health says I believe in Jesus Christ unto salvation and God says do you really? well let's see let's put your faith in the laboratory and so God begins to put the screws on as we say and like Job the Lord may permit the enemy to touch a man's possessions may touch his physical being touch his reputation touch his friends until everything's gone what's he going to do? well either he's going to say if that's the way God treats me I'll throw the whole thing over...

40:09 - 41:30 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the function of affliction is basically this it is God's laboratory to test the genuineness of faith and it is God's school room to teach us the advanced lessons of faith

Acknowledging God's goodness when all is well (bills paid, healthy children, good business) is contrasted with believing God's goodness when stripped of possessions, to show what truly tests faith.

so your faith in the character of God as revealed in scripture is tested in the midst of affliction to read in the Bible that God is good that God is loved that God is wise and to have every evidence of his goodness in a positive way all the bills are paid the children are healthy the business is going fine that takes no faith you could be walking by a site that's why certain unregenerate men will even acknowledge the goodness of God in the common blessings of life and they'll say God's good to me but you let the man be stripped of his possessions and let God begin to deal with him in a way th...

41:37 - 42:46 Read in full sermon

The point: When affliction comes, remember that it is not abnormal; you are 'at home' with the people of God in this realm.

Waking up with three eyes would be abnormal and disturbing, just as a believer should not view affliction as abnormal but as being 'at home' with the people of God.

with the people of God now if we can remember that this will help us in our whole reaction to it you see if you suddenly woke up one morning and saw three eyes where you normally just saw two you'd be disturbed either you'd know there was something wrong with the two you had or the glasses that you've got over those two or something was really wrong if you were seeing right because three eyes is a state of abnormality if you wake up in the morning and something's not right you're disturbed well as a child of God when you wake up in the morning and there's affliction don't think you're out of y...

48:38 - 50:05 Read in full sermon

The point: Let your first reaction to affliction not be 'Lord remove the affliction,' but 'Lord, do in my faith what you purpose to do by this affliction.'

If a man's finger is caught in a door, the first reaction is to open the door, not to philosophize about God's purpose. This illustrates the natural, sympathetic concern for immediate relief from suffering, while also pointing to a deeper, spiritual response.

so that your first reaction is not Lord remove the affliction but Lord remove the affliction Lord do in my faith what you purpose to do by this affliction I don't know what would happen if I got a call next week and someone said Pastor I'm real sick will you pray that the Lord will strengthen my faith in this affliction I'd dig my ears out and say what's happened no what I'll hear is I'm real sick pray that I'll get well as soon as possible isn't that our reflex action my uncle or so and so has lost his faith has lost his business pray that he'll get it back again real quick see now this is na...

50:05 - 51:32 Read in full sermon